Me to We

In March, I attended a We Day along with 12,000 young people with teachers and guests at Wembley Arena - it is a mixture of inspirational speaking and pop concert. Each of these young people was there because they had helped in their community and had earned a place with their work in the context of Free the Children, a charity initiated by Craig and Marc Kielburger when Marc was only 12. Over 20 years later, their work is testament to the kind of vision described in David Gershon's book above. The brothers have received many honours and prizes as they continue to galvanise and expand their efforts. The philosophy described here is very simple simple and accessible – we are wired to reach out to each other and together we can change the world. This is one of the most important messages to convey to young people, where I also play my part with Inspire>Aspire (see www.inspire-aspire.org.uk - this year we reached over 25,000 young people).

The book describes the extraordinary stories not only of Craig and Marc, but also of many others like Desmond Tutu, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Goodall, Richard Gere and Queen Noor, who have supported their work. The authors take a critical look and superficial modern ideas on happiness, pointing out that real fulfilment means serving and helping others. There are chapters on gratitude and empathy, as well as plenty of inspiration in terms of guidance towards living a Me to We life. Above all, it is a demonstration of what can be achieved by starting with a small group of committed people with a clear vision. There are many moving episodes, including the time when Craig was given a T-shirt by a street child, Jose, with whom he had been playing football with a plastic bottle. This was his only T-shirt. Craig tried to refuse, but Jose insisted, and he reciprocated. It was a moving example of real communication and trust. Similarly, Marc found himself in the medical front line at the age of 20, with no experience whatsoever. He was on the point of coming home when a local invited him to a terrific party, so he decided to stay on and worked in these appalling conditions before going on to Harvard then Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He turned down all sorts of lucrative jobs order to pursue this work. I urge you to read this book, be inspired, join the movement and make your own contribution.